Deep in the {humid} heart of Texas.

My grandparents recently relocated to Plano Texas where they set up camp in a ranch house big enough for their collection of treasures acquired throughout the years of world travel. Of course this abode wouldn't be suitable for my aquatic grandparents unless it came with a pool in the backyard.

In the year or so since they have lived there my Grandpa who was diagnosed with Parkinson's has unfortunately suffered a serious decline in health and now struggles with bouts of dementia. I decided to fly down there for a visit before he became completely riddled by his failing health. Leading up to the trip I felt quite a few anxieties about my ability to maintain composure and not be a complete bumbling emotional mess. Kudos to me I managed to remain in control of my emotions!

This five day trip turned out to be the best of my life and the memories that I have of it are so precious and I will cherish them forever. It was great to relax and spend my afternoons swimming in the pool. A couple of my brothers happened to be down there visiting at the same time so I managed some quality time with them as well i.e. being slaughtered in video games and helping them cut down trees in the backyard!

The real reason and highlight of my trip was the time I got to spend one on one with my grandpa. I maintain that he is one of the best men on the face of this planet. His love for bow ties, golf, painting and complimenting his granddaughters whenever he has the chance are things I have warmly associated with him. He has led a most fascinating life full of near death experiences and outstanding achievement whilst remaining grounded in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

As of late he spends most of his time in bed unless he feels up to joining family at the table for meals or an occasional chat on the couch. At this point he loves nothing more than to have someone sit in his room with him to provide comfort and companionship. Those hours I spent laying on the bed next to him simply listening to him tell stories mean the world to me. He told me about proposing to my grandma on the steps of the Parthenon, of fighting in the Korean and Vietnam Wars, about his work for the government on nuclear missiles, he spoke about meeting Pope Pius in the Vatican and discussing religion with the head of the Greek Orthodox church. He reminisced about training with Jesse Owens and qualifying for the Olympics, he remembered dancing in a movie with Shirley Temple and attending Boy Scouts with Ronald Regan.

Each day that I spent time with him just before he would nod off to sleep he reminded me that above all else and more important than his worldly accomplishments it was his testimony of the gospel that he wanted me to know. He and my grandmother have served four missions together and are both temple workers. For the past few years he has worked as a sealer in the Los Angeles Temple and more recently in the Dallas Temple.

I came home from my trip with a few new acquisitions from my grandparents. A piece of marble ruin from time my Grandpa spent in Greece and a miniature caryatid my Grandma got when she was a child growing up in Greece, these excited this lover of classical antiquities. My grandpa requested that I get his art books as well. The most powerful thing he sent me home with was his testimony that if we will give up everything to the Lord in the building of his kingdom that we will receive great blessings in return and that his gospel is the most true thing in the whole world.

To witness such a great yet humble man testify so powerfully to me was striking and memorable. It definitely made up for the humidity!